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Coastal Risk Assessment and Management Programme

Coastal Risk Assessment and Management Programme (2011 - present)

Summary

The coastal zone of Barbados is the country’s main economic asset, acting as an attraction for both tourists and locals alike. The coastal zone also houses much of the islands infrastructure and is an access point for traditional uses such as fishing and maritime transport.

Due to its location, Barbados is moderately exposed to hurricanes and tropical storms which result in storm surges and high winds which have significant negative impacts on the coastal zone. Barbados is also susceptible to beach erosion and cliff instability at various locations around the island and is also prone to inland flooding in low lying areas. These issues, as well as the potential for additional impacts due to climate change factors mean that Barbados must enhance its resilence to marine, coastal and terrestrial hazards in order to attain its current and future sustainable development goals.

The Government of Barbados, through the Coastal Zone Management Unit (CZMU), is currently executing the Coastal Risk Assessment and Management Program (CRMP). The program, which is partly financed by the Inter-American Development Bank, is aimed at increasing the resilience of Barbados to coastal hazards through the improved conservation and management of the coastal zone. The main objective of the CRMP is to enhance the capacity of the CZMU in integrated coastal zone management in Barbados while incorporating sound disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation principles within the development planning process. The three main components of the CRMP are described below.

Component 1: Coastal Risk Assessment, Monitoring and Management

This component provides the CZMU updated qualitative and quantitative data on risk in the coastal zone and state of the art tools for routine quantitative assessment, monitoring and management of coastal risk. Activities within this component include:

Risk evaluation and communication tools and applications for risk-based decision making by CZMU and strategic partners

Component 2: Coastal Infrastructure

The objective of this component is to control shoreline erosion, enhance climate-related hazard resilience of coastal infrastructure and improve public access to beaches. This component will significantly increase the recreational opportunities offered to tourists and residents. Activities within this component include:

Reef regeneration/construction as a non-engineering solution to shoreline erosion

The sand used in the HWIP is surplus from the previous Coastal Infrastructure Programme (CIP). The armour stone (granite) for the structures was procured from New Brunswick, Canada. The Granite is denser than limestone, making it more durable.

The objective of this component is to strengthen the policy, regulatory environment and institutional capacity within Government to enable the CZMU to fulfill its expanded mandate for integrated coastal risk management. Activities within this component include:

DRM and CCA Sensitization and Training Plan for the CZMU and Strategic Partners

The average height of the high water over a 19-year period. For shorter periods of observations, corrections are applied to eliminate known variations and reduce the results to the equivalent of a mean 19-year value. All high water heights are included in the average where the type of tide is either semi-diurnal or mixed.